Digitally? You’re at Scratch’s open source web client!
We’re working to update the [Scratch website](https://scratch.mit.edu) to use a new codebase, contained in this repository.
We’re currently building Scratch using [React](https://facebook.github.io/react/) and [SCSS](http://sass-lang.com/documentation/file.SASS_REFERENCE.html). Here are some resources to help you get acquainted with how we’re working on the Scratch codebase:
We use npm (Node Package Manager) to maintain and update packages required to build the site.
### Update Packages
When making changes it's important to make sure that all of the node packages are up to date. Some changes in the code are needed because of package updates, so make sure you do this. You can update the packages by running this command:
This constructs new files on your machine. If you want the files to only be in memory for testing purposes, consider skipping to the To Run section below.
If you would like to create a temporary version of the site on your machine that you can access through your web browser run the command below. Building (see To Build above) is not necessary for this step and the temporary server can be turned off (see To Stop below).
During development, `npm start` watches any update you make to files in either `./static` or `./src` and triggers a rebuild of the project. In development, the build is stored in memory, and not served from the `./build` directory.
*`webpack: bundle is now VALID.`– The bundle has been loaded into memory and is now viewable in the browser. This will show up both once `npm start` has completed its setup, and also once updates you make to files have been re-compiled for viewing in the browser.
*`webpack: bundle is now INVALID.`– If you see this, then it means you have made updates to files that are still being compiled for browser viewing. Pages will still be viewable, but they will not see any updates you made yet.
Once running, open `http://localhost:8333` in your browser. If you wish to have the server reload automatically, you can install either [nodemon](https://github.com/remy/nodemon) or [forever](https://github.com/foreverjs/forever).
**NOTE:** Because by default `API_HOST=https://api.scratch.mit.edu`, please be aware that, by default, you will be seeing and interacting with real data on the Scratch website.
We're currently in the process of transitioning into this web client from Scratch's existing structure. As we transition, there are going to be some issues along the way that relate to how this client needs to interact with the existing infrastructure to work properly in production.
On top of migrating to using this as our web client, Scratch is also transitioning into using a new API backend, Scratch REST API. As that is also currently in development and incomplete, we are set up to fall back to using existing Scratch endpoints if an API endpoint does not exist – which is where the `FALLBACK` comes in.
Most of the issues we have currently revolve around the use of `FALLBACK`. This variable is used to specify what URL to fall back onto should a request fail within the context of this web client, or when using the `API_HOST`. If not specified in the process, it will not be used, and any request that is not made through the web client or the API will be unreachable.
Setting `FALLBACK=https://scratch.mit.edu` allows the web client to retrieve data from the Scratch website in your development environment. However, because of security concerns, trying to send data to Scratch through your development environment won't work. This means the following things will be broken for the time being:
Additionally, if you set `FALLBACK=https://scratch.mit.edu`, be aware that clicking on links to parts of the website not yet migrated over (currently such as `Explore`, `Discuss`, `Profile`, etc.) will take you to the Scratch website itself.
Some users have experienced difficulties when trying to get our web client to work on Windows. One solution could be to use [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/). If that doesn't work, you might want to use [Wubi](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide) (Windows XP, Vista, 7) or [Wubiuefi](https://github.com/hakuna-m/wubiuefi) (Windows 8 or higher). Wubi(uefi) is a Windows Installer for Ubuntu that allows you to have Ubuntu and Windows on one disk, without the need of an extra partition.
